Monkey Maintenance

While this is a real estate blog, often times I find things we learn apply to our everyday lives as well. Today is one of those instances. It comes in the form of Monkey Maintenance. What is Monkey Maintenance, you ask? Well, it comes from real estate motivational speaker Terry Watson (www.terrywatson.com). I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at the annual ReeceNichols kickoff ceremony in Kansas City. If you have a chance to witness him in person, do it. Well worth your time. He is incredibly entertaining and funny. So what is Monkey Maintenance and why is it important? In short, as Terry says, Monkey Maintenance is the simple act of saying the phrase, “THAT’S NOT MY MONKEY!”

Monkeys are the things that other people try to take off of their backs and put onto ours that simply do not belong there. For us in real estate, this is the buyer that cannot qualify for the house of their dreams. Or the seller that cannot get their asking price in a down market. In both cases, somehow their agent needs to be able to overcome this. Things that might apply to you could be someone at work doesn’t complete their task in a timely manner, but then expects you to work late to meet a deadline. Or your child refuses to eat what you make for dinner, but then complains of hunger. The examples can go on and on and on. People continually try to take their monkey and place it on to your back. Unfortunately, in many cases, we willingly take on that monkey. Well…no more!

“THAT’S NOT MY MONKEY!” Learn this. Use this. Believe this.

Now, there are certainly times in your life when someone needs help with their monkey. You know these times and understand that they are different than what we am talking about now. This is not a license to be greedy with your time, money or effort. Don’t be a jerk, but know the boundaries.

It seems like such a simple concept, and it is. We just don’t employ it enough. Start small, but with conviction that some things are just not your monkey. Take that monkey and return it to the back of the person who is trying to give it to you. That is theirs to deal with. Once you start making this a routine in your life, you will find that you will be less stressed and have more time for doing the things you should be, and want to be doing.